吉里巴斯(Kiribati)

正式名称吉里巴斯共和国（Republic of Kiribati）

中太平洋的独立国家，包含了三十三个岛屿。有三个主要岛群︰吉柏特群岛、费尼克斯群岛和莱恩群岛（三个莱恩群岛的岛屿除外，它们属美国的领土）；吉里巴斯还包括巴纳巴岛，前吉柏特和埃利斯群岛殖民地的首府。（陆地）面积811平方公里。人口约94,000（2001）。首都︰拜瑞奇，位於塔拉瓦环礁上。人民多为密可罗尼西亚人。语言︰英语（官方语）和吉柏特语。宗教︰天主教、新教和巴哈教派（Bahai faith）。货币︰澳大利亚元（A$）。除巴纳巴外（为珊瑚岛且较高），所有岛屿都由沈在水里的火山链爆发形成的低矮珊瑚礁，且被环礁包围。仅二十个岛屿有人居住；95%以上的人口住在吉柏特群岛。经济以自给农业和渔业为基础。政府形式是共和国，有一立法机构。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。

西元1世纪时操澳斯特罗尼西亚语的人们来此定居。斐济人和东加人在14世纪左右来此。1765年英国指挥官布莱恩发现尼库瑙岛；1837年首批欧洲永久定居者抵达。1916年吉柏特和埃利斯群岛和巴纳巴岛成为英国殖民地；费尼克斯群岛於1937年加入。莱恩群岛的大部分亦於1972年加入殖民地，但埃利斯群岛分出另成立吐瓦鲁。1977你这个殖民地成立半自治政府，後於1979年组成吉里巴斯这个独立国家。1995年该国曾引起邻近岛屿的争执，因它改动了国际换日线的计算，使得吉里巴斯是1999年12月31日最早迎接新世纪到来的国家。

English version：

Kiribati

Independent nation, consisting of 33 islands, central Pacific Ocean. The three major island groups are the Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line islands (excluding the three Line islands that are U.S. territories); Kiribati also includes Banaba Island, the former capital of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony. Area (land): 313 sq mi (811 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 82,000. Capital: Bairiki, on Tarawa atoll. The native people are mostly Micronesians. Languages: English (official), Gilbertese. Religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Baha'i. Currency: Australian dollar. With the exception of Banaba (which is a coral island and higher in elevation), all the islands of Kiribati are low-lying coral atolls built on a submerged volcanic chain and encircled by reefs. Only about 20 of the islands are inhabited; more than 95% of the population of Kiribati live in the Gilbert Islands. The economy is based on subsistence farming and fishing. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The islands were settled by Austronesian-speaking peoples before the 1st cent AD. Fijians and Tongans arrived c. 14th century. In 1765 the British commodore John Bryon discovered the island of Nikunau; the first permanent European settler arrived in 1837. In 1916 the Gilbert and Ellice islands and Banaba became a crown colony of Britain; the Phoenix Islands joined the colony in 1937. Most of the Line Islands joined the colony in 1972, but in 1976 the Ellice Islands were separated to form the country of Tuvalu. The colony became self-governing in 1977, and in 1979 it became the nation of Kiribati. It caused controversy among neighboring islands when, in 1995, it moved its calculation of the International Date Line in order to be the first country to reach midnight, December 31, 1999.